Grand Landscape

    

Goose Creek, Hayman Burn scar,  2018 - week 08

     I have found that capturing the "Grand Landscape" has been one of my greatest challenges.  In the 25 or so years that I have been doing large format photography, I have created a lot of disappointing images. Some have been close to being successful, and to date only a handful have actually succeeded.

     Part of my problem is that I'm always comparing my images with the ones I see in books by the "Masters".  What you never see in those books is how many times they photographed the same subject, till they got an image that met their approval.  You will never see the failures.  The books have always made it look too easy...  Yet it is a genre of photography that I will attempt every now and then.  Maybe just for the challenge, or to see if I have finally figured it out...

     And then again there are places that just beg you to try!

         

       Sheeprock, Hayman Burn scar,  2018 - week 08

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     But the rewards have been wonderful when I do get it right!  Besides which it means I'm out with my camera and no other concerns.

Trees, or Forest...

The Forest Path,  2018 - week 07

      Each week has its bit of exploration, learning, and when I'm lucky an epiphany that leads me to greater understanding of my art.  Or its' challenges.
     I have always found cottonwoods to be wonderful trees yet so full of individual character. 
Each tree is so different, and yet, still a cottonwood.  The challenge that has arisen with this, is 
that when I am photographing cottonwoods, I have found that I'm usually creating a portrait. 

     A portrait of an old friend.

Cottonwoods,  2018 - week07

     That won't work this time around.  I need to show the forest...  the whole community!  So I cannot focus on any one tree with its wonderful personality.  I need to capture the chaos of nature, while showing the beauty of the cottonwood forest.
      And then come up with art...

Cottonwoods,  2018 - week 07

Between the Seasons

The Three States of Water,  2018-week 06

     Sometimes in our explorations of the world around us we will find unusual seeming scenes that in reality are quite normal. It can be something as simple as the ice on the river melting away. Yet, what do we see as artist... This is actually when things can get fun as well as interesting. And maybe we let our imaginations run away with us.

North Fork, South Platte River,  2018-week 06

     Yet the question often becomes, are we really getting our message or the playfulness across? That is something that every viewer will decide for themselves. Sometimes they will see something that the artist totally missed!

     And I will continue to enjoy the creative process, as I create...

Cottonwoods, A Fond Farewell

First Glance, 2018-week 05

     I often have found myself interested in working in projects or series.  You can often tell a more interesting visual story.  This way one image doesn't have to capture it all.  You can also show different facets of the same story and how things change.

     In 2006 I did my first book orientated project for a handmade book titled "Cottonwoods in Winter".  It was completed by using a 4x5 field camera (Wista) over the course of January and February of that year. I first published and hand sewed the book that March.
     The location was a 2 mile long by 3/4 mile wide cottonwood forest along the South Platte River in Chatfield State Park, Colorado.  There are no roads, just trail access, so I used my mountain bike pulling a trailer to haul my camera, tripod and film from my house on each visit. It did not snow much that winter which really helped me with access to remote areas.
     I really grew to love that trail and those cottonwoods. Parts of this forested area seemed untouched by man over the years.  Some of the trees are so large it would take 3 people to touch around their girth. With a few of them being close to 300 years old.

     A dozen years have gone by since I worked on that project.  The wind has knocked down a couple trees.  The river has flooded once or twice, but basically it is the same magical forest that I visit through out each year.

Looking north, 2018-week 05

     That brings us to my new project...  Once again I will photograph this area.  Trying to capture more of its feel as a forest, instead of the individual trees.  I am guessing I have at the most two years before it's mostly destroyed. The Corps of Engineers has given the Denver Water Board the go ahead to raise the level of Chatfield Reservoir by 10 feet (3 meters).  Most of this old growth forest will be affected as it grows along the river feeding into the reservoir.  All of the trees in these images have been staked and numbered, the final accounting before the roar of chainsaws and earth movers.

     Denver wants its money, and needs its water as it continues to grow.  Forgotten and erased from our memories will be some of the Colorado lifestyle and its untouched wild lands. 

Looking south, 2018-week 05

     Nothing else to do now, but record it so it won't be totally forgotten!